The United States of Bland
This morning I ran across a display ad in Sunset Magazine; it was a tourism piece for the City of Portland, Oregon. Regardless of the ad’s merit, it does make a point that resonates well today: that most cities across the country lack much individual personality. Everything looks so mind-numbingly bland. The same strip malls, [...]
Free Font Utility from Linotype
OK, it may not be terribly original to build a font manager that looks almost identical to ITunes (including a built-in font store), but the venerable type founder, Linotype was shrewd to do so. There’s got to be a boatload of overlap between graphic designers and ITunes customers. I cut my teeth growing up with [...]
July Vacation Date Set
Seems like 2008 is a good year to save energy. With that in mind; we’re turning off the lights and the air conditioning for better than a week this July. Copies&Ink team members have all consolidated their summer vacation to one week, beginning with the 4th of July Holiday. So in short:
Copies&Ink will be closed [...]
Un-Confuse Your Marketing!
People send mailers for all the wrong reasons.
Are you thinking about sending out a flyer or mailer? Stop! Why are you sending it? Unless you have a clear picture of your reason, you’re cooking up a recipe for disappointment!
Most people who send out flyers are thinking DRM, or direct response marketing. Compare that to “branding” [...]
My new company car
In the wake of $4.59 gasoline, I can’t think of a better time to think green than right now. Maybe even better than thinking green, each of us has the power to take positive steps in the direction of renewable resources, cleaner air and a healthier life.
It’s 5 miles from my front door to my [...]
Extra: Inland Empire Invaded by Artists!
Here’s a free or low cost event that may be of interest. The Art Institute of California – Inland Empire is hosting an arts camp of sorts, from July 7-11, in San Bernardino. Topics and workshops in the areas of graphic/web design, fine arts, fashion, animation, culinary arts and more will be presented.
For more information [...]
“Your rules are really beginning to annoy me!”
Kurt Russell’s words come to mind every time a new postal regulation comes into force, and this time around is no exception! Starting November 23, the USPS will require that all presorted mailing lists be cleaned using the National Change of Address (NCOA) directory. To see our NCOA primer and special promotional offer, click here.
What [...]
William Alpert is a seasoned entrepreneur and 35 year business veteran. His California based companies design and create printed and electronic marketing materials for Fortune 500s, entrepreneurs as well as advertising and graphic design professionals. He is the author of InkBlot, a weekly journal on business marketing in the internet era. 
